More Articles

Ever since a principal left Licking Heights North Elementary for other administrative duties in
the district in early March, the district superintendent has been fighting rumors that the transfer
was a punishment.

So Philip Wagner, the superintendent, would like to make this clear: Brian Wilkinson wasn’t
punished. If Wagner had it his way, Wilkinson would still be principal.

“He’s a wonderful person, a wonderful educator,” Wagner said.

The principal asked for the transfer and wrote a letter to parents on March 12 saying as much.
Wilkinson needed some freedom from the stress of the principal’s job to pursue a doctorate and
spend more time with his family, Wagner said. The timing gave the district a chance to try out
interim principals who could become permanent replacements.

But something else fueled the rumors. Before the transfer, district officials learned that
Wilkinson had been paying school staff members out of his own pocket to give students extra
instruction after school. Wilkinson had the best intentions, Wagner said. He didn’t consider,
though, the tax and other implications the arrangement could have.

Still, the Licking Heights board of education liked the underlying idea. District officials
asked Wilkinson to stop the payments, and the board voted on March 18 to continue the program
itself. Wilkinson, on his own, wanted the job change.

“We will continue to work together to discuss his professional options,” Wagner wrote to parents
last week.

• • •

Two of the 14 educators who applied to become Pickerington’s next superintendent are retired and
are candidates for another superintendent job in the area.

Dale Dickson served as superintendent of both Berne Union and Walnut Township schools in
Fairfield County before retiring last year. Jerry Skiver, who is the interim superintendent at St.
Mary’s schools in Auglaize County, retired from New Boston schools in 2007.

Both are also being interviewed for Johnstown-Monroe’s superintendent position, according to the
Johnstown Independent.

Officials with K-12 Business Consulting, which is conducting Pickerington’s superintendent
search, have been talking to other potential candidates and expect the applicant pool to grow by
April 4.

Pickerington Superintendent Rob Walker is leaving at the end of the school year. He retired for
one day last year and was rehired with a one-year contract.

• • •

Grandview Heights’ middle school has been called Larry Larson Middle School for several months,
but district leaders plan to formally celebrate the change on May 16.